Serigraphs, also known as screenprints or silkscreen prints, are made by forcing inks, by means of a squeegee, through a mesh (traditionally of silk, but now almost always synthetic) onto paper, canvas, fabric, wood, metal, ceramic or other substrates. Areas that are not to be printed are blocked out, either by lacquer (or other) stencils or ink-resistant blockout media of various kinds. Stencils may be “positive” or “negative,” hand-cut, painted directly onto the screen, or processed onto the screen through a variety of photographic methods.

Each color is printed separately, generally proceeding from the lightest colors to the darkest, although with many exceptions and variations.

The prints in this exhibition were all printed by hand by the artist in his studio, using hand-cut lacquer stencils. The prints are generally produced in editions of between 5 and 10, with each print numbered sequentially indicating its place in the total edition. For example, a print signed “1/5” indicates that it is the number one print of an edition of 5.

The prints in the Passing Through exhibition range in complexity and number of colors from approximately 15 to more than 80, the application of each color requiring a separate printing (or “pull”). Ensuring accurate placement of each color (“registration”) is critical to the success of each print.

The paper used for the prints is Beckett Concept Vellum, which the artist favors for its brilliantly white and sturdy surface.